Held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, with several segments over at the Orleans Arena, Las Vegas was again overrun by the most loyal fans in music.  People were hanging out everywhere to catch a glimpse and possibly an autograph of their favorite stars.  As in years past, we got to hang out behind the scenes and check in with all of the engineers and A2′s who work so hard to make this show happen.  By we, I mean one of my Shure Associates, Jenn Liang-Chaboud and myself.  Jenn works for Market Development and has done a fabulous job at maintaining many key relationships on the West Coast and in Vegas.

We arrived on Wednesday and made a few visits to some local shows, namely Blue Man Group and the Shania Twain show.   The folks at Blue Man gave us a quick behind the scenes tour, which was amazing.  So much creativity and design goes into the many “out of the box” ideas that they create.

Thursday, April 4 was the first rehearsal day for the awards show.  If you caught the show, you saw the amazing performance by Shure Artist Little Big Town of their new single “Your Side of the Bed.”  Today, they just planned to rehearse the acrobats. The group showed up to watch and ended up singing along with the track.  Karen said to the crew “Please forgive our vocals on this as we have no ear systems.”  They were RIGHT ON PITCH!  Such talent!

Next up was Shure Artist Hunter Hayes rehearsing his new single “I Want Crazy.”  For those of you who don’t know Hunter, he learned and played over 30 instruments on his current album as its sole performer.  Quite a feet and he played them well!  This segment would segue into his introduction of the legendary Stevie Wonder, who would join Hunter and band on stage for “Sir Duke.”  Hunter and Stevie had met previously and discussed performing together one day.  That day would be April 7, 2013.  Hunter uses a UR2/SM58 on tour and that’s what he and Stevie used on the show.

The day closed with the legendary George Strait who, for this performance, also used a UR2/SM58.  He would later be joined by Garth Brooks on stage, who used the same, for a tribute to Dick Clark.

Friday Morning, we headed to the Orleans Arena to visit with Shure Artist Brad Paisley and crew. Brad would be hosting the Fan Jam concert on Sunday after the awards show.  In addition, Brad performed several slots on the show, including with Hunter and Shure Artist Dierks Bentley. Brad and Dierks both sang on a UR2/beta 58.    After that, we headed back to MGM to catch Kelly Clarkson’s rehearsal of her new single “Baby Don’t Rush” – such a great song!

Following Kelly’s rehearsal, co-hosts Blake Shelton and Shure Artist Luke Bryan were joined on stage by the Pistol Annie’s and Shure Artist Sheryl Crow for the show’s opening number called “Boys Round Here.”  Both Luke and Sheryl were on UR2/SM58′s.

Saturday’s rehearsal featured a number of Shure Artists including Dierks Bentley (UR2/SM58), Little Big Town (UR2/KSM9HS), Florida Georgia Line (UR2/SM58), The Band Perry (UR2/KSM9HS and UR2/SM58) and then Hunter Hayes w/Stevie Wonder.

All Artists on the show used the PSM1000 system for ear monitors, which were provided by ATK Audiotek in addition to the UHF-R systems.

Shure Artists that took home awards that night included: Luke Bryan – Entertainer of the Year, Little Big Town – Vocal Group of the Year, and Florida Georgia Line – New Artist of the Year.

This was a fabulous trip and it is always a pleasure to be able to maintain these great relationships and show our support at these events.

Ryan

PSM1000'S

Luke Bryan & DR. Pepper

SM57's on Brad Paisley's cabinets

UHF-R at Orleans Arena

PSM1000 packs

ACMA's from Front of House

Jeff Peterson (FOH), Ryan Smith, and Steve Anderson (Announce Mix)

Brad Paisley at Orleans Arena

Luke Bryan's Kit

Not only this, our PSM1000 system was exclusively relied upon for all wireless ear monitor mixes. 16 mixes and over 50 belt packs were used for all of the acts.

Shure artists Brad Paisley, Luke Bryan, The Band Perry, Dierks Bentley, Vince Gill, and Little Big Town all used the UR system with various capsules.

Speaking of Little Big Town, a HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to them for winning Single of the Year for “Pontoon” and finally getting the award they have been working towards for 13 years, Vocal Group of the Year!

Other artists that used Shure UR handheld transmitters included Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Willie Nelson, Eli Young Band, Taylor Swift, Hunter Hayes (who won Best New Artist), Brantley Gilbert, Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, Kelly Clarkson, and Carrie Underwood.

As usual, I was able to attend both rehearsal and the show to hang with the crews and the greet the artists.  I was also pleased to have fellow Shure Associate Bill Ostry visiting from our Market Development team. It’s always a pleasure to have Associates come down to visit and get a taste of all of the action in Nashville.

There are plenty of YouTube videos of the performances from the show online.  Check out them all out, including a very special duet with Kelly Clarkson and Vince Gill.

Ryan

Someone has been making deals with Mother Nature because she decided to ease up on the crews that work this show in the stifling heat.  There were breezes like we’ve never felt and nights that were simply gorgeous outside.  Yes, there was the expected rainfall but not nearly as bad as it was in past years, interrupting the show schedule.

As usual, I spent the majority of my day over at LP Field as the groups loaded in.  This event has always been exciting to be a part of to see all the contacts we have in Country Music and meet some new faces.  I did, however, spend sometime across the river at the Riverfront Stages to catch a few artists.  Jo Dee Messina has been a Shure Artist clear back to her first hit and she never fails to draw a huge crowd at this event.  After so many years in this industry, she still delivers a great performance!  The other artist I caught there was Corey Smith who had a great following and loves playing in Nashville. If you are not hip to his music, go check out his site and download “Maybe Next Year.”  He’s a great songwriter!

LP Field is home to the Tennessee Titans.  This week, it was the evening party spot for all the fans who spend the week in town to catch all their favorites like Glen Campbell, who I have never seen in concert.  What a treat! One night Ronnie Milsap kicked off the evening playing all of his hits.  He sounded amazing as well.

Some of the Shure Artists that rocked the field were The Band Perry, Luke Bryan, Rascal Flatts, Brad Paisley, Randy Houser, Little Big Town, Dierks Bentley, and Martina McBride who performed last on Sunday to close out a great week of music in Nashville.

Shure was well represented throughout the fest on both stages thanks to the help of Clair Nashville and Morris Light and Sound.  The wired mics that we brought out to the CMT Music Awards were then brought over to be used at LP Field.

Thanks to all for continuing to wave the Shure Flag and for keeping the spirit of music alive and well in Nashville and beyond.

Ryan

Music City

Day One - empty stadium

Glen Campbell

Covering up at FOH

Paisley's guitar cabs

Brad Paisley

Riverfront Stage

Riverfront 2

UHF-R & PSM900's

Jo Dee's crowd at Riverstages

Jo Dee rocks the river

Jo Dee Messina and Ryan

Luke Bryan

Luke Bryan from FOH

Little Big Town - Front Page News!

Mics a plenty

John McBride and his awesome desk

Side Stage

Crew Humor

Back of the Stadium

Post Show Teardown

This years’ CMT Music Awards was held at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Wednesday, June 6.  Shure pitched in a healthy supply of wired mics to be used on the show and Clair Nashville brought in the wireless systems.  Endorsers Luke Bryan, The Band Perry, Rascal Flatts, Little Big Town, and Brad Paisley all used Shure UHF-R wireless systems with various capsules for their performances.   Other artists who used Shure included Zac Brown Band, Toby Keith, and Kenny Chesney.

I brought in a pair of SRH750DJ headphones for monitor engineer Jason Spence to try out and he was very impressed with their response.  I also caught Brad Paisley backstage and he commented that he’s been loving his amp sound lately with just pair’s of SM57′s on them.

Little Big Town performed their new smash hit “Pontoon” on top of a real Pontoon, complete with a slide off the back and plenty of folks on board having a good time being on national television (See pictures below)

The end of show performance featured Rascal Flatts singing their latest “Banjo” with a quick segue into Journey singing their trademark “Don’t Stop Believing.” The entire audience were on their feet!  A great way to end a great show.

However, that was not the end to my week.  The CMA Music Fest would carry me through the weekend.  (Stand by, I’m going to bring you that blog right after these messages…..)

Ryan

Wireless World

Rascal Flatts and Journey backstage

Jason Spence

Little Big Town

Loading The Stage

My Creds

Red Solo Cup

The Stage

Outside the Arena

A couple of exciting aspects of this years’ show included the fact that PSM1000′s were relied upon as the only system for ear monitors and Shure’s new Axient wireless system made 2 appearances on the show.  The first was with artist Chris Young and then later in the show with Shure Artist Sara Evans.  Both artists used the SM58 capsule and the system sounded incredibly clean.

One emotional point during the show was when Shure Artists Little Big Town sang a song with a children’s choir written by newcomer Hunter Hayes entitled “Here’s Hope.” The group started and ended with verses from John Lennon’s “Imagine.” Another magic moment came in the form of an actual wedding ceremony, performed during the song “Marry Me” sung by Shure Artist Martina McBride who was accompanied by Pat Monahan of Train.

Rascal Flatts debuted their new hit single “Banjo”, joined by Steve Martin whose banjo was captured using a KSM137.  Toby Keith brought out his “Red Solo Cup” for Vegas and sang while wandering through the crowd, joined by the one and only Wayne Newton and comedian Carrot Top. The Band Perry debuted their new single “Postcard from Paris” singing on a trio of KSM9′s.

Another big highlight for me was when KISS walked by backstage, a couple of times.  They were there to present the award for Vocal Group of the Year.  I grew up listening to these Rock Icons and to see them that close was pretty awesome.

The crew for the show worked extra hard this year as they were rehearsing 2 shows at once.  The next day after the awards show was a special concert – Lionel Richie and Friends – to be broadcast later this month.  It’s always a pleasure hanging with this crew as they are so professional and offer great advice/commentary on current and future products.

Click on this link to see some highlights of the show and all the Shure products in action.

Bridgestone Arena – Nashville, TN

Having been down in Nashville for 10 years now, it is always great to be able to attend this awards show.  It’s a reunion for both a lot of our Nashville contacts but also some of our East and West Coast based contacts as well.  I get to hang with Michael Abbott, one of the Audio Producers for this and many other TV shows and  J. Mark King, who does the production mix for the Academy of Country Music Awards also comes out to do this show.  There’s Steve Anderson, who swaps out the input boxes between each act as well as the engineers from Music Mix Mobile (John Harris, Jay Vicari and Joel Singer) who mix the music for the show.  The Nashville crews and the crews from each coast all dig in together to get over 20 performances on the air.  Once the show is on, it’s amazing to watch it all happen.  Even though most of this crew has been doing shows like this for years, they are always looking for ways to improve and present the best show for millions of viewers.

The same goes for Shure!

This year, Shure would play an even bigger role as we have a new series of personal monitor systems to present to artists.  The PSM1000 was about to make its appearance on this show for the first time.  Was I nervous? Not at all.  The system has been out there for a while now and been tested in some high profile settings.  Monitor engineer Jason Spence had just used it 3 weeks ago with Alabama and it passed with flying colors.  The system was ready and so were we!   Jason had been speaking with Shure about wanting to use this system on this show for months.  He told Mike Parker, also a monitor engineer for this and many other shows, that he planned to have units there.  Mike, also a beta tester, would not settle for anything less on his side as well.  When all was said and done, ATK Audiotek out of California shipped 14 channels for this show as well as sending a rack of systems out for the Latin Grammies that same week!

Are you as excited as we are??  Seeing our packs labeled up for use with names like Taylor Swift, Lionel Richie, and Ms. Piggy is pretty exciting.

Jason commented on how beneficial it was for them to be able to adjust the output power of the transmitters so they could reach an artist clear across the arena, providing them with dropout free signal.  That is very important to an artist who is performing in front of a live audience and in turn to millions watching at home.  If their signal cuts out, it can be a real mood killer for an artist in the heat of the moment.  Having those 2 antenna’s on the beltpack makes an amazing difference!

As far as artists on this show, we are always delighted when the list of performers comes in and we see a great representation of Shure Artists.  Like Martina McBride who performed her new single “I’m Gonna Love You Through It” on a wired SM58 and Luke Bryan, who worked the stage with his custom chromed UR2/SM58 wireless on “Country Girl (Shake It For Me).”    We also saw a great Glen Campbell Tribute perfomed by endorsers Vince Gill and Brad Paisley, joined by Keith Urban – all on Shure wireless. Both Lionel Richie and Kenny Loggins requested Shure to use on their performances!

New to the Shure family is The Band Perry, who performed on custom painted Super 55′s and went on to pick up 3 CMA Awards that night!   Sara Evans sang her most recent big hit “Stronger” on a UR2/Sm58. Taking home the coveted Entertainer of the Year award that night was Taylor Swift who sang on a UR2/Beta 58A.

Endorser Luke Bryan also co-hosted the red carpet with Ellen before the show.  His FOH engineer, Pete Healey, came by earlier that day to see if we could find him a Shure wired mic that Luke could use for that broacast.  We found an Sm58 and thanks to Pete, another TV spot!

During the show, I ran into many artists, engineers, and managers backstage.  It’s always a great time to catch up with them as they are usually out on the road or busy releasing a new record.  I was waiting  around backstage each time The Band Perry picked up an award to congratulate them.  I also talked with Rascal Flatts drummer and endorser Jim Riley, who was getting set to travel up to Indianapolis for the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) to do a drum clinic later in the week.  I would be traveling in the same direction right after this show.

After the awards show concluded, I went up to Jason Spense’s monitor “world” and talked with him and his techs about how the show went.  Thumbs UP all around.  One tech even commented that they received no complaints about dropouts or bad mixes, which he mentioned was very unusual for this show.   That brought a big smile to my face!

A BIG THANK YOU to Mike Abbott, Jason Spence, Mike Parker, J. Mark King, John Harris, Jay Vicari, Joel Singer, Steve Anderson, and so many more for an amazing job.  Thank you to the artists who continue to rely on Shure every night they step on stage.  Most of all, thank YOU for spending your time on our blog site and reading this blog.  Send it along to a friend !

Take care and keep coming back for more!  (If you want more RIGHT NOW, here’s our press release on the show and the amazing PSM1000 system.)

Ryan

Nashville, TN

2011 marks not only the 40 year Anniversary of the CMA Music Fest but also the 10th year of the Shure office in Nashville. I have been fortunate to be able to attend this show since Shure opened the Nashville Artist Relations office in 2001. It has been great to be able to support this event and meet with all of the great people who have put it on over the years. It has changed over the years as they are now taping many of the performances for later inclusion in a 2 hour television special. Roughly half of the artists that performed at LP Field during the 4 day event are either Shure Artists or used Shure on vocals. OK, why not, let’s list them all!

Shure Artists:

Sara Evans
Brad Paisley
Dierks Bentley
Little Big Town
Martina McBride
Trace Adkins

Josh Turner, Dailey & Vincent  and Rascal Flatts

Shure users:

Ashton Shepherd
Chris Young
The Band Perry
and The Janedear Girls

It’s always great to see the crews for each of these artists and meet new faces and engineers.   This show is the perfect place to get lots of business accomplished.  Although it’s very hot and the hours are long, I do look forward to this show every year.

Each night, the stadium filled up with enthusiastic crowds and there were several guest artists who showed up to sing along.  Alabama showed up on Thursday night to perform with Brad Paisley, American Idol winner Scotty McCreery joined Josh Turner on a song, Martina McBride and Idol runner-up Lauren Alaina made a great pairing on Martina’s song “Anyway“, Little Big Town joined  Rascal Flatts for an awesome display of vocal harmonies on a medley of classic rock tunes.

As customary, each night started off with the singing of our National Anthem.  On Saturday night, Shure Artists’ Dailey and Vincent sang their version which is THE BEST version that I have ever heard.  I’m sure it will be up on the internet soon enough,  keep an eye out for it.

Some of the products that were prominently used throughout the shows included the UR2/SM58 and the UR2/KSM9 for many of the lead and backing vocals, the Beta 98AMP for toms, a few KSM313 ribbon mics on amps  and well as many KSM32′s for overheads and guitar amps.

The annual appearance of rain was broken this year but it was a close one on Saturday evening.  It cooled off quite a bit (which was welcomed by some) but never a drop.

So comes to a close another great year of artists performing at this wonderful event.  Speaking of Anniversaries, my wife and I celebrated 17 years on Saturday!  Looking forward to many more!

Ryan

Kelly Clarkson rocks the cover of this eclectic issue, in which editor Cory Lorentz asks readers what they’re listening to and how they discover new music.

View and download the full On Tour With Shure Summer 2005 Issue on shure.com.